Wednesday, June 25, 2008

I don't think I have ever had Swedish Meatballs, but I have often pined for them when shopping at IKEA. I don't know what it is about wandering through a maze of Swedish furniture that makes you hungry for just about anything. Traditional Swedish meatballs are served in a cream and beef broth sauce, so I have tried to duplicate a beefy type flavour here. The dish went over pretty well with the kids--meatballs and rice are always a winning combo.

METHOD1. Fry meatballs in 2 tbsp oil over med-lo heat for 15 mins, turning regularly, until browned all over.2. While meatballs are frying, make the sauce. Combine water, Bragg's, Marmite, spices, sauce and cornstarch in a large pot and bring to bubbling. Whisk flour into soy milk and add to pot. Whisk until smooth and thick.3. Add meatballs to sauce and simmer for 20 mins, uncovered. Stir regularly to keep sauce from sticking to pot. Be gentle so the meatballs don't break apart (they are durable, but not invincible).4. Serve over rice.

Veg-a-nut,No marmite? No HP? So much for the greatest nation on earth! Heh heh. I think you could use BBQ sauce in place of th HP. The marmite is a bit tougher since it adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the sauce. Maybe some nutritional yeast and some salt. Or a vegan "beef" bullion cube if they sell that sort of thing in your city (they don't here).

thanks I was going to ask the same question! My husband is converting to veganism and he loves looking at your site and getting all excited.. although Im still learning myself as i just went vegan 3 months ago and my dishes dont turn out quite so beautiful. We have a 1 year old vegan with us and he has been our motivation thank you - you have made the world a better place for fellow vegans by showing us we can make interesting dishes.. Love from Alaska.

Veg-a-nut,Do you have the Publix supermarket chain where you live? They sell both HP Sauce and Marmite. You can also buy them on amazon.com - for real. Given my extreme fondness for these items, as well as for the underlying tempeh burger, I know I will be making this.

We can get HP sauce in the states. I bought some at the local Central Market (it is like Whole Foods) last month and a Greek store here sells it as well. HP sauce is most excellent. Marmite, I would have to look for becuase I am not to familiar with it. The Swedish Meatballs look great. I will have to give these a try and see if our little guy likes them. Having Arthur and another boy soon, I am all about kid-friendly meals. Have a great weekend Vegan Dad!

You always have the best recipes! Such great vegan comfort food. I found your tempeh gyro recipe after doing a google search (it always amazes me the breadth of what you've tried) and I can't wait to put them on the menu next week! Good luck with the cookbook!

Thanks, Vegan Dad. Alas, no where in San Diego County do they sell vegan beef bouillon. Guess I am going to place a mail order and put these on next weeks menu. I would have to say we are a omnivore nation for sure. OH, well I always have been different!

I've never seen HP Sauce around by me (Brooklyn, NY). Does it compare more with A1 Steak Sauce, Worcestershire sauce, or BBQ sauce? I clicked on your HP link, and the bottle looks just like A1's. thanks :)

veg-a-nut,There was to be a Cost Plus in the San Diego county,and they sell Marmite.Your county is also blessed with MANY health food stores, so give them a check, as they all carry vegan "beef" bouillon, cubed or paste.Cheers,D.

teresa,HP sauce is made with dates and has a nice kick. I suppose it is very much like A1 in that they are both steak sauces. Is A1 made of dates? Anyone? In any event, I am sure it would work fine in this recipe.

for teresa and other NYers: a few weeks ago, i got HP sauce at St. Mark's Market on st. mark's place btw 3rd and 4th aves - maybe out of the way for some, but other places in the city must have it too.

I'm sampling one meatball right now. the brown gravy for it rocks, btw, ... i have some vegatarian dry mix on hand already which i'll need to use up but after that, no more. THIS is wonderful. weather plain, in BBQ, ketchup, marinara, white sauce, or brown sauce, these are really good! Can't wait till hubby gets home and it's dinner time!

marmite... I remember it from Australia. It's not so bad as vegemite (oh, the horror!), but it's kind of creepy, in a subtle but ultimately really creepy manner kind of like John Malkovich vs. Christopher Walken in http://www.ghastlycomic.com/d/20020929.html, except vegemite is still by far a worse condiment. I don't miss either.

I made this recipe this weekend and am STILL eating leftovers (quite a lot for 2 people!). I have to just really thank you for this recipe! It was so delicious and reheats beautifully. It was a tad on the sweet side and I think I'll probably only use 1 tbsp of sugar next time, but I was using turbinado so that might make a difference. Thanks for the delicious fake meatballs!

I'm really happy to see this because I used to love Ikea's swedish meatballs (although, since you claim to never have had them, I wonder if I should just ditch my recollections of how that particular dish tasted) and even when I was still eating meat, they stopped making them with mashed potatoes, which was my preferred method of consumption. Still, I look forward to trying these. Right after the sausages, then the wingz.....